Portland Trailblazers: Time is running out on the current core

The Portland Trailblazers hit the rebuild button and trade Damian Lillard

The other, more commonly discussed, option for the Trailblazers is to blow things up completely. This means trading not only Damian Lillard but a lot of their other core pieces as well.

Taking this route would allow the Portland Trailblazers to hit the reset button. They would be admitting that this current roster just isn’t going to get things done.

Doing that would not be a bad thing by any means, though. It would allow them to move on to the next chapter of their organization, but it would, unfortunately, come at the cost of losing their franchise player.

That being said, trading Lillard may prove to be an impossible task. It could be necessary, but getting enough value in return may feel unattainable for Trailblazers fans.

Realistically, dealing for Ben Simmons to be the centerpiece of the franchise would not be smart. He would fit beautifully next to Lillard, but getting him on his own probably wouldn’t be worth it.

The best course of action in trading Lillard would probably be getting some super young players and a ton of draft capital. A couple of teams that stand out in that regard are the Celtics, Wizards, and Pelicans.

Getting a young All-Star who is around 23-25 years old may seem enticing, but the likely outcome of that would be them leaving in free agency a few years down the line.

While it may not seem as flashy, the better option for Portland would be to get a ton of draft picks and some super young players. Players they could take a chance on, not established young stars.

Portland Trailblazers fans might not like hearing this, but it could be what’s best for the team’s future. That being said, all of this depends on how well the team does this season.